The Toronto Maple Leafs weren't able to earn two points last night at Scotiabank Arena against the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche, dropping a 2-1 decision via the shootout. One particularly disappointing aspect was the fact that they only managed 18 shots on goal, making it a relatively un-hectic evening for Avs goaltender Alex Georgiev.
Meanwhile, the Leafs lost their ownership of a National Hockey League record in their setback last night. Despite only allowing a total of two goals on the scoreboard by the time it was all said and done, they lost for the first time in 48 tries when allowing a total of two opposition scores or fewer.
"It is their effort," head coach Sheldon Keefe explained of his team being limited to less than 20 shots on goal. "If you look at a lot of the game, a lot of it would come back to the mobility of their defense. They are just up on top of you. They are up tight. They recover well. You feel like you are in and are going to get some space, and they close the space."
"I thought we stayed with it," Keefe continued. "In such a tight game, we definitely had a shot here or there that could’ve been the difference for us. Even on our power play, I didn’t love a lot about our power play, but in each of the ones we had, we did have one really high-quality look and just didn’t convert."
"That is what the games came down to. In the end, they win the skills competition."
The Maple Leafs will be back in action when they bring in the contending Carolina Hurricanes to Scotiabank Arena. Game time is set for 7:00 PM EST.
